MLS Power Rankings: Trying to make sense of Frank Yallop's exit

Frank Yallop (right) parted ways with the Earthquakes; San Jose has a 3-6-6 record this season.

Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

Week 15 MLS Power Rankings

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Old Rank

Team

1

1

FC Dallas (8-2-4) FC Dallas had the week off, but the club will wait on the word regarding striker Blas Perez, who was ruled out of Panama's World Cup qualifier with the USA with gastroenteritis. Should he have to miss the weekend's crucial bout with Portland, that'd be a big blow for a side whose Western Conference lead continues to shrink.

2

2

Portland Timbers (5-1-8) The Timbers remain undefeated on the road and unbeaten in 12 matches, but there was something quite unsatisfying about blowing a two-goal lead in the second half in Chicago Saturday night. What is encouraging, though, is the play of former Premier League forward Frederic Piquionne, who continues to build off his four-goal explosion in the U.S. Open Cup with another meaningful shift in league play.

3

3

Montreal Impact (8-2-2) It's pretty impressive that Montreal has played the fewest games in the league (12) yet is averaging the most points per game and is two points off the pace for the Supporters' Shield. That will have a two-pronged effect as the season winds on: On one hand, the club has some leeway with its games in hand and is in an advantageous position from a standings point of view; on the other, a back-loaded schedule combined with CONCACAF Champions League play will make for a busy next four months for the East's top side.

4

5

Real Salt Lake (8-5-3) Javier Morales is looking like the playmaker of old, and that's not good news for Western Conference foes. With another pair of assists in RSL's triumph over LA, Morales continues to move the ball around with high effectiveness and act as an attacking fulcrum for Jason Kreis, operating at the All-Star level we had been accustomed to seeing prior to a long-term injury bout.

5

4

Sporting Kansas City (6-5-4) Sporting Kansas City was off, but two of its main pieces turned in vital contributions for the U.S. national team, with Graham Zusi and Matt Besler stepping up in Kingston to help the Americans to a 2-1 win over Jamaica. Both players will be sorely missed when SKC continues its U.S. Open Cup defense against upstart Orlando City on Wednesday, but they won't miss any league time with SKC not due back to the field in MLS play until June 22.

6

6

Houston Dynamo (6-4-4) The wounded Dynamo have had some time off to recuperate, but the club embarks on a three-game, 10-day adventure starting Wednesday with an intriguing U.S. Open Cup bout against Texas rival FC Dallas. There is never a shortage of fireworks when the two sides clash, and because they only play once a season in league play nowadays, this extra match -- one with a place in the competition quarterfinals on the line -- is an added bonus for MLS fans.

7

7

New York Red Bulls (7-5-4) The Red Bulls had a silent week and won't take the field in league play again until June 23 against the Philadelphia Union, but the club's quest to win its first trophy continues Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup when it faces the New England Revolution in one of four all-MLS round-of-16 bouts. And for all the grief he has taken, kudos to Red Bulls left back Roy Miller for coming through with a game-winning goal in Costa Rica's World Cup qualifying triumph over Honduras.

8

10

Seattle Sounders (6-4-3) The Sounders may have been playing with a makeshift midfield, with Brad Evans off playing hero for the USA, Osvaldo Alonso out injured and Shalrie Joseph suspended, but the likes of Andy Rose and Servando Carrasco did more than just fill in while helping the club to an important 3-2 win over Cascadia rival Vancouver in front of more then 53,000 at CenturyLink Field.

9

8

L.A. Galaxy (6-6-2) It is obvious that the Galaxy are not the same without Robbie Keane scoring goals and making runs up top and Omar Gonzalez manning the back line, but to what extent they were worse off was not quite clear until now. The club has been outscored 8-1 in the two games without their star stalwarts and has fallen to the edge of the playoff picture in the West. No team will welcome the end of international play as much as Bruce Arena's side. On the flip side, Landon Donovan's latest goal has him at 127 for his MLS career, seven shy of Jeff Cunningham's league record.

10

9

Colorado Rapids (5-4-5) Normally a reserve match between the Rapids and Harrisburg City Islanders would not carry much weight, but the game presented a huge moment for Colorado, with Jaime Castrillon seeing his first competitive minutes since undergoing offseason knee surgery. The Colombian was the team's leading scorer a season ago with eight goals and would provide a tremendous boost for a club that combated an epic brush with the injury bug in the early months of the season.

11

12

Philadelphia Union (6-5-4) The Union managed to win without Jack McInerney scoring a goal for the first time all season, turning in a whirlwind six-minute stretch to overwhelm Columbus at PPL Park in a mid-week, 3-0 thrashing. Sebastien Le Toux quietly leads the league in assists with six (four of which have come in his last six games) after his pinpoint ball for Conor Casey's diving header capped the rout.

12

11

New England Revolution (5-4-5) The Revs couldn't keep up their hot streak offensively, failing to beat D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid after scoring nine goals in their previous three games, but the Revs still passed the ball around confidently and defended stoutly to earn a home point, extend their unbeaten streak to five games and remain on the cusp of the top five in the Eastern Conference.

13

13

Columbus Crew (4-5-5) Columbus' defense will want a mulligan after succumbing to one massive wave of pressure in the first half of the club's 3-0 loss to the Union. The club's record has it in the middle of the pack in the league, but a deeper look shows that its wins are over bottom-feeders Chivas USA, D.C. United (twice) and Toronto FC. That's not exactly a murderer's row of opponents, and Robert Warzycha's side could really use a marquee victory to get things going.

14

14

Vancouver Whitecaps (4-5-4) Vancouver remains winless against Cascadia foes in MLS following a 3-2 defeat in Seattle. What makes the loss even more devastating for the Whitecaps is that the game was there for the taking, as Camilo's brace (off two Russell Teibert feeds) had the club ahead 2-1 and looking good before defensive lapses allowed the home team to swoop in and take all three points.

15

16

Chicago Fire (3-7-3) Chicago did well to battle back from a two-goal hole to salvage a home point against Portland, with Daniel Paladini's masterful free kick balancing the scales in the late stages. And if there was any doubt that Mike Magee's scoring qualities translated elsewhere, he now has three goals in three games in all competitions as a member of the Fire, pulling within two of Jack McInerney in the race for the Golden Boot.

16

15

San Jose Earthquakes (3-6-6) Nobody saw the dismissal of manager Frank Yallop coming, which makes one wonder what is really going on behind the scenes in San Jose. With the club only winning once in its last 11 games and being booted from the U.S. Open Cup by lower-tier competition, the results haven't been there, but had things truly gotten to the point where last season's Supporters' Shield-winning effort was completely undone?

17

17

Chivas USA (3-8-2) The Goats remain in plenty disarray, still reeling from Chelis' axing and dealing with a lawsuit from a pair of fired academy coaches, but they are still alive in the quest for the U.S. Open Cup and will look to avoid suffering the fate that cross-Stub-Hub-Center rival LA did when facing the Carolina RailHawks in Cary, N.C. Chivas will also turn an eye to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey in the coming weeks, with forward Julio Morales suiting up for Mexico on the grand stage.

18

18

Toronto FC (1-7-5) Toronto FC president Kevin Payne will see his current struggling side go up against his former one in this weekend's match at RFK Stadium, one that neither team will want to drop for obvious image and standings reasons. The club's player carousel continues to spin as well, with QPR winger Hogan Ephraim's short-term loan ending but Canadian midfielder Terry Dunfield returning to training following a knee injury that has sidelined him for more than two months.

19

19

D.C. United (1-10-3) The club's winless stretch is now at a team-record 12 games, but gaining a hard-fought point on the road against an in-form New England side is a step in the right direction for Ben Olsen's side. It remains shocking to see Dwayne De Rosario back in a substitute role, and that dynamic can't figure to continue without a major bump in the road along the way.

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